With changes of 0.11% in July, 0.28% in August and 0.16% in September, the Special Extended Consumer Price Index - IPCA-E of the 3^rd quarter was 0.55%. In September, the main items that made the index decrease were fixed telephony and fuels. Food products and apparel continued in a decreasing trend. The main individual impact on the IPCA-15 of September (0.06 percentage point) was water and sewerage prices.

The Extended Consumer Price Index-15 (IPCA-15) changed by 0.16% in September, accumulating 4.08% in the year and 5.95% in the last twelve months (from October 2004 to September 2005). The prices for the calculation of the monthly index were collected in the period from August to September 12 and compared to prices charged in the period from July 13 to August 11.

Fixed telephony

, the main item which made IPCA-15 increase from 0.11% in July to 0.28% in August, caused the index to decrease 0.16% in September. Almost the totality of the annual readjustment of the services of fixed telephony has been included in the fee, therefore it changed from 3.39% to 0.13% from August to September.

Similarly, fuels, which increased in the previous month, decreased in the reference period of the index. Gasoline fell from 1.14% to –0.19%, and we observe that the authorized readjustment for the refineries, on September 10, did not have an effective consequence upon the prices charged in gas stations. Regarding alcohol, after a hike of 4.22% in August, it fell by 0.66% in September.

Food products

(from –0.67% to –0.60%) and apparel (from –0.06% to –0.10%) continued decreasing. Among food products, stood out the falls of products in natura: potatoes (-19.77%), tomatoes (-13.37%) and onions (-10.98%). Rice and beans, the most traditional combination of the Brazilian cuisine, also turned cheaper: rice decreased 2.29%; black beans, 2.73% and carioca beans, 8.35%. The same happened to the prices of eggs (-3.60%), cassava flower (-3.19%), pasteurized milk (-2.16%) and of other food products.

Among the hikes, still regarding food products, the highlights were refined sugar (2.09%), chicken (1.77%), crystallized sugar (1.48%) and coffee (1.41%). The major individual impact (0.06 percentage point) on the index, nevertheless, was observed in water and sewerage prices, which increased 3.24%, on average, as a result of the increases in the metropolitan areas of São Paulo (3.58%) and Belém (17.51%). The situation was similar in Rio de Janeiro (9.67%), where, despite the discount granted in September by the state water treatment company, the readjustment in effect since August was incorporated.

Household employees wages

, which changed from 1.86% in August to 1.82% in September, continued to be influenced by the increase of the minimum wage that occurred in May, when its value changed from R$260.00 to R$300.00. The delay between the readjustment and the inclusion of it in the index occured due to methodological procedures.

Other hikes which also influenced the index of September were the following: health care plan (0.96%), used automobiles (1.13%), condominium maintenance fees (1,20%), and airplane tickets (6.85%).

Among the areas, the major result was recorded in the metropolitan area of Belém (1.04%), due to increases observed in water and sewerage prices (17.51%), electricity (5.82%), urban buses (5.04%), gasoline (1.93%) and remedies (1.52%). On the other hand, Goiânia (-0.28%), Porto Alegre (-0.11%) and Recife (-0.05%) presented deflation in September.

IPCA-15 refers to families whose monetary income ranges from 1 to 40 minimum wages, from any source. It includes the metropolitan areas of Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Recife, São Paulo, Belém, Fortaleza, Salvador and Curitiba, besides Brasília and Goiânia. The methodology applied is the same one of the IPCA. The difference between the two indexes is the period of data collection.

The complete tables, with the changes of September, besides the indexes by area, can be found in the IBGE website (

www.ibge.gov.br). See the text and afterwards, click on "Conjuncture Indicator ".